Our "Divine Name" family study this week was a hoot. We were using the "Divine Name" brochure, published in 1984. Earlier this week I asked for suggestions on how to best approach it. Here's the best "sound bite" moment from the study.
At one point I made a statement something like this:
Me: "Now if you were to show something like this to a kid at school...."
Oldest daughter: *cutting me off* "Dad, I couldn't show a school kid something like this (pointing at the brochure). IT'S BIASED!" Hahahahahaha.
You go girl!!! I wanted to give her a couple big high fives on the spot, but managed to restrain myself. I can't wait to see what she has to say about the Sept. KM. Tee hee.
It's amazing to me sometimes how productive just going through the WT's material in an atmosphere where the kids know that I'm not going to be jumping down their throats for questioning something can be. I owe a deep debt of gratitude to Jim Whitney, aka "Amazing" for promoting this approach. The atmosphere isn't 100% open and honest though since my wife is still fiercely JW loyal in her heart. She's open to questioning a pretty wide variety of ideas up to a point. But, when that "warning light" goes off in her mind, I've got to back-pedal quickly and redirect the conversation.
Here's a couple other highlights from the study.
At the outset I asked them: "What do you think you'd be able to tell a kid at school about God's name?" (I love this approach because it automatically brings a skeptical, non-biased, 3rd party into the study.) Some of the kids thought that God's name was Jehovah. My oldest daughter came up with Yahweh. They all knew Ps 83:18.
I showed them the Tetragramaton (sp?) in the brochure and explained it a little. Then I asked them: "When Moses uttered the Divine Name, what sound do you think came out of his mouth?"
Kid's Answer Tally:
Jehovah: 3
Yahweh: 1
We don't have a clue: 0
I showed them a paragraph on pg 7 that says 'We don't have a clue' in so many words. They were shocked. One of them said, "But Dad, you've taught us our whole lives that it was Jehovah."
*shaking my head inside at that one and wondering "Just how much damage have I done to these kids?"*
At first I was going to defend myself but stopped short. I realized she was right. If that's what got through, that's the message that has been taught. I was able to use this to good advantage though. I said, "Well, that's why we're taking the time to study this. I'll bet if you asked most JW kids they'd either say Jehovah or Yahweh too. But this information has been sitting there on the shelf your whole life."
We then segued into this line of reasoning. Since in the mind of most JWs God's Name = Jehovah, what is the result of thinking that? Some JWs actually think these sounds are somehow Holy and "special". Almost like a lucky rabbit's foot. We then read the material showing that the actual word Jehovah (according to the brochure) got it's start from a Spanish Monk name Raymundo Martini in the 13th century. It wasn't exactly Jehovah, it was more like "Ieouah" or something like that.
Open Mind: "So kids, where exactly did we get the modern day pronunciation of the Divine Name?"
Kids: *almost in unison* "Da Catholick Church!" (Proud Dad moment, much to Mom's dismay)
Towards the end it was really bothering my wife and she went into damage control mode to make sure we weren't losing sight of the importance of using God's name, etc.
Conclusion: For the kids I think it was enlightening. For my wife, I've gotta be careful. Too much, too fast and she'll probably shut down just like I would have a few years ago.
Points I'll make in the future:
1. My wife was certain to point out at the end of the study the many, many scriptures that talk about how important God's "name" is. Well then, if it's SOOO important, why couldn't this omnipotent God, the same god who has accurately preserved the Bible, (gag) have also preserved the pronunciation of his name. It's just one word right?
2. If the kids are looking like they're up to the task, we'll dive back into the brochure and see how the NWT splatters Jehovah all over the Greek Scriptures and even admits that it's not in the oldest manuscripts we have. But of course the brochure gives some "good reasons" why they went ahead and did it. Okey dokey. It's only translating the WORD OF GOD after all. As long as you "splain" yourself real good, He'll understand.
Side points to fellow JWDers: God hand picks the Jews as a "people for his name". Gives them the promised land. Only piece of Middle East real estate with no oil. ( Old joke, I know)
God also tells the Jews how super-duper important his name is ad nauseum. Then gives them a language with no written vowels. Go figure.
I think if God ever asks for volunteers who want to be his "chosen people" in the future, I'll just kind of nonchalantly take one step backwards and hope he doesn't notice.
Open Mind